Misty Jazz Piano Lesson
Misty is one of the most popular jazz ballads and the distinctive melody is immediately recognisable amongst musicians. The tune is written in the key of Eb major and follows an A1 – A2 – B – A2 Form. The tonality is primarily major with some altered harmony sprinkled in here and there.
Before diving into the chords of Misty it’s a good idea to get a solid grasp of the melody. The melodic range of Misty is 2 octaves with the lowest note being the F below middle C and the highest note being F an octave above middle C. This is quite some range and so as you can imagine, your right hand will be kept busy when playing this standard.
Another interesting feature of the melody is the eight-note and quarter-note triplet sections which add a lot of rhythmic interest to slow tempo ballads such as Misty.
Related Lessons
Block chords are used for harmonising a melody line by moving the notes of the chord in parallel, following the same rhythm as the melody.
We explore various ways to add harmonic interest over dominant chords using tritones. We use the tunes ‘Body and Soul’ and ‘Misty’.
In a minor 251, the 5 chord will be an altered dominant chord. In this lesson we apply altered dominant chords to the major 251 progression.
Practice Tips
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There are 2 versions of the transcription download. If you are just starting out with jazz piano, then first use the "Misty R-3-7 Arrangement".
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This simple arrangement will help you visualise the harmony and the important voices moving.
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The full transcription contains more advanced theory including sus chords, and altered dominant chords.
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Check out this lesson where we explore the Sus13 chords to 13#11 tritone subs. of Misty.
- Take a listen to Erroll Garner's version of this tune. This is the definitive recording of Misty.
